The record

LegislationLegislation· Feb 2026
S 269 Signed into law

Sponsored by John Kennedy (R)

Ending Improper Payments to Deceased People Act

Lets Treasury permanently access death records to stop payments to deceased people.

Tradeoff

Prevents improper payments to deceased individuals by sharing death data between and Treasury. Sets a higher evidentiary standard (clear and convincing evidence) before marks someone as deceased.

What's in it

See official bill text

The Senate passed this by on September 19, 2025. The House passed it by on January 12, 2026, and it was signed into law on February 10, 2026.

  1. Senate

    Introduced

    (Jan 28, 2025)

  2. Senate

    Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs(Jan 28, 2025)

  3. Senate

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted to send it to the floor

    Reported(Jul 30, 2025)

  4. Senate · Amended

    Senator Kennedy's

    Agreed to by (S.Amdt. 3912 · Sep 19, 2025)

    Adds a requirement that the Commissioner of Social Security not record a death without clear and convincing evidence, and requires an agreed cost-sharing arrangement for State death data.

    No individual votes were recorded.

  5. Senate

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Sep 19, 2025)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  6. House

    Received from the Senate

    Received(Oct 10, 2025)

  7. House

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Jan 12, 2026)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  8. House

    Sent to the President

    (Feb 3, 2026)

  9. White House · Signature

    Signed

    Donald Trump (R)

  10. Enacted

    Became law(Feb 10, 2026)